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"Sorry Boss, we've not heard from or spotted either of them." Hei sighed loudly, shoulders rolling as he recieved the news he'd expected, and loathed.
"They couldn't have just vanished, Jay." His voice was barely that, more of a growl. It had been a week now, since the attack on Vale. He and the girls had moved to a safer apartment beforehand; It was Roman's usual safehouse/hideout, and Neo had messaged them before a day or two before the assault, so they had time to get out. Roman might've been in jail, but Neo was still free, and relayed his wishes perfectly.
The only problem with this, is that now, they didn't know where Neo was, which meant they didn't know where Roman was. Whether he was free, whether he'd been recaptured, what he was doing, etc, etc. Roman often vanished on jobs, out of contact, but he would always tell them, and if he forgot, Neo would. But now, both of them were M.I.A. Missing in Action. Now that the CCT was down, he couldn't call or message them, and none of his contacts had caught wind of them, or their whereabouts. That or his henchmen were just incompetent. Which was a thought he often had.
The man beside Jay puffed air loudly. "Junior, sir, Miss Neo can change how she looks, so even if we'd seen her we probably wouldn't know. And Mister Torchwick, well, maybe he just doesn't want to be found." Jay nodded appreciatively.
"Denny's right Boss." Hei's glare got even more intense, and Denny gulped. "Plus isn't there a chance...you know..."
"The attack was real bad, Junior, sir, and the Grimm can't tell who's who..." Jay faltered, and Denny too. Hei knew what they meant, what they'd failed to say.
He groaned, cursing inside his head. He didn't want to deal with his men anymore. It was late, and the girls hadn't eaten yet. He'd meet some contacts further out tomorrow. "Alright boys, just take the next couple nights. Tell the others too." They nodded, and he closed the door before they'd even walked away.
The girls were sat in the living room when Hei walked in. Melanie had her legs atop of Miltiades', and the latter was reading a book.
"Who was that?" Enquired Melanie, eyes never leaving the TV. "When can we eat?" Miltiades hummed in agreement with her second question. Hei let himself relax, and padded into the kitchen to fix himself a drink. He could still see the girls over the bar counter. Melanie had turned to face him. Miltiades sneakily turned off the TV as she did, yet remained engrossed in her story.
"Just some of the boys checking in." He responded, knowing that wasn't what she really cared about. "What do you fancy eating?"
"Salad." Replied Miltiades, finally closing her book and facing her family. Melanie looked downhearted for a moment, but nodded.
"Neo hates salad." She muttered, and Hei nearly dropped the plates he'd gotten out. Nobody had dared approach the topic of their missing family, though they all thought about it. He regained his composure, placing down the crockery, and turning to the fridge.
"Yeah. She prefers meat, but we always have to skimp on it for you and Roman." Melanie was vegetarian, and Roman, well, he didn't know. Probably something about his looks. He and Neo bonded over their love for steak, and hearty meals. Militades just suffered her family's picky tastes in silence. Though, she had quite a sweet tooth - Not that she'd ever admit it. Speaking of, she was now staring up at him, eyes full of emotions she'd never express on her face.
"Dad?" He'd pulled out a glass earlier, and filled it up under the counter. He knew what was coming.
"Yeah?"
"When are they coming home?" Hei took a long, long sip.
"Soon." Melanie scoffed, and her sister looked away. Hei regretted his answer immediately. His girls were smart, they knew he was lying.
"You don't know, do you?" Melanie sounded both annoyed and sad. It hurt him to see them like that. It hurt that Roman and Neo were gone. It hurt that he couldn't do anything.
"...No. I don't." He poured another drink. He didn't want to have this conversation.
"Didn't Neo tell you before we left?" Asked Miltiades, nudging Melanie so she removed her legs from her lap. He shook his head. It wasn't really a lie. She didn’t give him a specific date, more a timescale.
'Probably one week. We'll need to hide from Atlas for a while, if it all goes according to Cinder's plan. I'll tell Roman you miss him.'
"I didn't say that!"
'I know. See you on the other side, Junior.'
He promised to take her to a restaurant she liked when they got back, she hugged him, and then she was gone. He would've smiled at the memory of their last conversation, but, if it truly had been that - Their last conversation - Then he had much he still wanted to say.
"Wait- So you don't know when they're coming back, or where they even are?" Melanie was standing up now, stalking over to him, Miltiades following behind her, worried her sister might do something rash. "How do we know if they're safe!? Alive even!?" The desperation in her voice nearly made him buckle.
He hadn't heard anyone say flat out that his family might be dead, and for a few moments, he was too stunned to even speak.
"Mel, I-I'm sure they're fine. They know how to take care of themselves." He cursed himself a thousand times over for the waver in his voice.
"Dad, we have to go looking for them! They could be hurt!" Melanie's frantic voice rang through the dim apartment. The mood had become unusually grim in the last few min, the peaceful atmosphere replaced with one of fear. Miltiades nodded, eyes fixed on her twin. Hei groaned, frustration radiating from his body. He downed the rest of his drink. He wished she'd stop yelling.
"What do you want me to do, Mel? Put up 'Missing' posters? Everyone in Vale knows who Roman is, knows he's a criminal." The glass began to crack slightly, hairline fractures appearing as his grip tightened.
"Do something, at least!" Melanie slammed her hand onto the bar beside him, startling her twin, who placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Melanie..." Her hand was shaken off, and the white-clad sister folded her arms angrily.
"No, Miltia! Neo and Roman could be in danger and he's just sat here, drinking!" Her voice raised significantly, pitching. Worry was foremost amongst her emotions, right beside anger, and both had been flaring up ever since the attack on Vale. Having to leave the club behind, possibly losing Neo and Roman, Hei doing apparently nothing to find them, it was all just too much. "It's like he doesn't even care!" She cried, throwing her arms into the air.
The glass broke, and Hei cursed. Miltiades gasped, and shifted uncomfortably. Sure, she was a skilled fighter, and didn't mind being rude turning people away, but her respect for Hei rivalled no one else, she'd never even dream of standing against him the way Melanie now was. She was anxious too, when she thought of the missing pair, but she had faith that Hei knew what he was doing. He was a renowned broker after all; He likely had all his contacts on alert, keeping a keen eye out for the mute and the redhead.
He was brutish, but not without compassion, she knew this. They both did, else they would've been dead on the streets years ago. But he found them, and took them in, and raised them. And Roman helped, occasionally, when he was around, though he was never much good at it until he brought Neo in. He'd been around a lot more once she was there. They were an odd family for sure, but she loved it, and had faith in it.
She gazed at Hei's hunched over, trembling form, and was overcome with sadness. It couldn't have been harder on anyone than him. Two family members missing and one more hurting him. She grabbed her sister's forearm, and tugged at it.
"Melanie. Stop it. He's already hurting."
"Is he?" Hei hadn't spoken again, and Miltiades was becoming increasingly worried. She lowered her head in a small nod at him, before walking away, still tightly grasping Melanie's arm. "H-Hey! Miltia!"
The red sister didn't respond until she'd pulled her sibling out of the room, and down the hallway towards their room. "Melanie."
"Miltia, what the hell? Why'd yo-" Began Melanie, before being cut off as Miltiades released her arm, and spun on her heel to face her.
"Dad is more worried than either of us. It's stupid of you to think he isn't. Don't keep yelling at him." Melanie looked affronted for a moment, insulted even, but then scoffed haughtily.
"Whatever." She pivoted, and stalked towards the door of the apartment. "I'm going out to look. Coming?" Miltiades started, eyes widening a fraction, before she hurried after her sister.
Just as she reached the door, her ears picked up the sound of thumping, and crashing, from the living room. Faint, but there. She bit her lip, took a deep breath, and followed her impatient twin out into what remained of Vale.